Friday, August 21, 2015

Greece: what future for the aid plan? – Le Figaro

Alexis Tsipras resigned, while the first tranche of the support program had been paid to Greece. This government instability weakens the agreement between the country and its creditors.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras wasted no time Thursday after obtaining payment of € 23 billion under the new aid package for Greece: he resigned, hoping to strengthen its base in new elections. “Now that this difficult cycle is over, I would submit to your judgment what we have accomplished,” said Alexis Tsipras in a brief televised address at 20:30 local. Saying they “clear conscience” and ensuring having “resisted the pressure and blackmail,” he then went to present his resignation to President Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

After being elected in January on a program criticizing the two previous assistance plans (memoranda) imposed on the country in 2010 and 2012 for a total amount of 240 billion euros, Alexis Tsipras eventually sign one third in turn, July 13, to spare his country may be expelled from the euro zone. Even before the official announcement, the head of cabinet of the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, Martin Selmayr, tweeted “early elections in Greece may be the way to broaden support” to the aid package.

“It is crucial that Greece maintains its commitment to the Eurozone,” said for his part the President of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem, quoted by NOS Dutch television. “There is broad support for the reform program in the Greek Parliament. I hope that the new elections will lead to (even) more support, “he added. Creditors and not hiding their joy at the prospect of seeing Alexis Tsipras relieved of his old friends. For its part, the president said he would do whatever was necessary for Greece to keep its commitments to the Eurozone, according to comments reported by analysts.

Moody’s feared his side to “the good implementation of the program,” seeing “a risk on future cash payments.” The first of these payments was in any case very fluidly place, while Greece had received nothing from its creditors (EU, ECB, IMF European Stability Mechanism) since August 2014, under the previous government . Conservative-Socialist coalition

Greece received 23 billion euros: ten were recorded in an account for future recapitalization of Greek banks and another 13 were almost immediately absorbed by a refund $ 3.4 billion was owed to the ECB imperatively Thursday, and that of a 7.16 billion bridge loan obtained in July. Finally, this tranche will also include a payment of three billion euros “before the end of November,” according to the progress of the implementation of reforms in the program.